


too late (but i love you)

by zaradrinkscoffee



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: But I wish it was, F/M, Katara (Avatar)-centric, Non-Canon Relationship, POV Katara (Avatar), POV Zuko (Avatar), Tragic Romance, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, supposed to be sad, this is my first so dont judge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:28:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27076492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaradrinkscoffee/pseuds/zaradrinkscoffee
Summary: During the Final Agni Kai, what if something went differently? What would happen then?Zuko needs Katara alive because he loves her and Katara wants to live because she loves him. All love stories get happy endings, right?
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Suki (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Katara
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. i'm on my way to you

**Author's Note:**

> This is horrible I know, but it's my first one so don't judge me please! I'm just so bored and I was rewatching ATLA and was imagining this happening instead and just wanted to see how it would look, so that's what this is - sorry if it's boring or badly written, I tried lol. if you like it at all or have anything to say, please comment it would mean a lot! also i wrote songs i listened to while i wrote this and that inspired the chapters in case anyone feels like listening to them:)  
> \- xoxo zara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (on my way - alan walker ft. sabrina carpenter)

The sky blazes in the color of blood above them, and Zuko watches in awe as Katara's cerulean eyes light up by the glow. She looked even more gorgeous than usual - if that was possible. 

"Don't worry, Zuko. We can take Azula." Katara's attention turns to him, and Zuko's eyebrows furrow.

"I know. I'm not worried about us - I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't get there in time?"

"He will." Katara says, confidence strong in her voice even though it had no business being there. She sighs. "He has to."

Zuko looks down, knowing she's right. He doesn't respond, but realizes that they aren't covering as much distance as they should. "We need to go faster if we have a chance of getting to Azula in time."

Katara nods in agreement, silently standing up on Appa's head. She's fully aware of what she wants to do, and Zuko finds himself interested to see how exactly she is going to speed them up. She commands Appa to take them down softly, and the sky bison heeds her order, soaring down to touch the ocean, which instantly reminds Zuko of the trip he took with Katara weeks ago to find her mother's killer. 

Katara quickly bends an air bubble around Appa's head, allowing the three of them to breathe once she takes them underwater. She guides Appa below the water, and Zuko is surprised top find himself unafraid surrounded by his opposite element.

Because it's Katara's element. And he trusts Katara. With his life.

Katara expertly waves her arms, and before he knows it, he's zooming through the ocean with the power of her bending.

Water is _her_ element, he realizes. 

They continue through the water in comfortable silence for the next while, before Katara begins to slow them down. "We're almost there. It's time to get back in the air." Her voice shakes but she keeps her eyes forward. "I'll create a cover for us though." Zuko is simply an audience member, watching the master waterbender pull water from the ocean and pass it into the air as steam that will hide the flying sky bison. Appa takes them through the mist, crossing the sky when Zuko feels a burning feeling alert him that someone is firing at them. He's almost too terrified to look down, but when two more fiery bombs barely miss them, he is forced to discover the culprit - three huge Fire Nation warships, filled with Sozin's Comet-powered benders.

He is about to plunge himself down to take down the ship when he feels Katara's cool hand on his shoulder. "I'll take care of this. We need you alive to take down Azula." Zuko can see amusement gleam in her eyes. "Future Fire Lord Zuko." She gives him a watery smile, not bothering to wait for him to argue against her decision. 

Zuko feels like this has been all he's doing today - watching her. And now he's doing it again, his ember eyes frozen on the blue figure as she plunges herself into the air and down below the sea. He waits for an eternity, watching as the water around where she dropped looks shallower than the rest of the ocean. His heart rate quickens as more time passes. 

Finally, he sees her emerge from the water, floating in the air with the aid of the largest water spout he has ever seen. The fire benders began to generate orange flames, and she flips into the sky, using ice pillars and swirling water to dance across the sea. The whole thing is a blur from Zuko's overhead view. The fire that the soldiers produce is terrifyingly powerful, but they are in the middle of the ocean. Even with Sozin's Comet, they are no match for her. 

Zuko remembers fighting her at the North Pole. He recalls being impressed with how far she had come in such little time. 

She's a true a prodigy, he thinks. Like _Azula_ , but not. 

He laughs despite himself as he remembers challenging her to a rematch while he stood on top of a glacier in the middle of a raging blizzard. He really was that stupid.

As he watches her part the ocean and twist it into a ferocious whirlpool that swallows the three warships into the sea's tentacles, Zuko thanks his lucky stars that he changed sides at the right time. He wouldn't have stood a chance against her now.

Well, maybe today. Today is Sozin's Comet, and Zuko can feel the power rushing through his veins. Which is why he doesn't know why she is the one defeating those warships and not him.

Scratch that. He does know why. She's Katara, Last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. She wants to protect the people she loves in any way she can, and she extends this to people she doesn't even know. That's why he's in love with her, even if he hasn't admitted it to her or himself yet. 

Another spout brings Katara soaring into the sky, gracefully jumping onto Appa's head and bending the water off of herself and into the air in one swoop. Zuko opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out, so he simply takes the reigns and continues in the direction of the royal palace.


	2. a tenth of a second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (killing me to love you - vancouver sleep clinic)

When you are about to die, you are supposed to think about your family, your friends, your happiest moments and saddest moments. Your life is supposed to flash before your eyes, and you are supposed to think about whatever is important to you.

Sokka, who's, granted, annoying, but the person that has _always_ been there and who she loves more than anything. Suki, her soul sister who is always there to give Katara a hug. Toph, her adopted little sister that's always teasing everyone and making her laugh. Aang, the boy who rekindled her hope for the world and makes her smile with his kindness. _Zuko_ , the person who she, well, hated and then not hated and then hated even more and then liked... and now, loves. These people are the most important people in her life. 

But when Katara sees a flash of a glowing blue bolt coming towards her, all she feels is shock. Shock and fear. And paralysis. All she thinks about is how she wants to move her legs but they feel frozen. And she's a waterbender, she can break out of this, but she can't. 

Nothing registers in her mind. Not until she hears a voice desperately scream "NO!" and sees Zuko running towards the bolt of blue, his right hand extended, prepared to block the attack from reaching her. He is ready to sacrifice his _life_ for her. 

But she won't let him. 

She wants to move her legs and dodge the bolt and take Zuko with her and take down Azula together, and then tell Zuko how she wants her whole life to be spent with him. But her legs won't move. And they can't move. It's too late. And Katara knows her only option. 

She can feel the overwhelming heat from the sun that hums energy into the fire benders. She can't even sense Yue hidden in the sky. 

But she can feel Zuko's blood. Warm, burning blood, that churns aggressively through his body as he runs. That's what matters right now. She's raising her hand without even knowing it, taking ahold of his blood and pushing him backwards.

Even Hama couldn't do this, her mind shouts at her. One last self-loathing session before the end. She ignores it, her eyes stealing a glance at Zuko's. His face is contorted is angst and shock and despair, and she can see tears welling in the bottom of his eyes. 

She feeling a needle plunging itself into her heart. She feels fire. She feels lava. She feels electricity shocking her body. She smells smoke.

She feels blue. She feels red. She feels white, hot _pain_. And then, she feels black.

All in a tenth of a second. 

That's all lightning needs. 

* * *

He would have saved her. He could have saved her. 

He might've died and his uncle could have been Fire Lord and Katara would be okay. 

Or - Katara could have just healed him!

But no. She had to be so damn stupid and so incredibly stubborn and now she had, what? Gotten herself killed? For _him_? For lightning he asked Azula to shoot so that he could redirect it and kill his own little sister and become the new Fire Lord? And his sacrifice was Katara?

This was a sick joke.

A nightmare, right? It had to be. But then why wasn't he waking up?

* * *

"Katara!" Zuko screams, his voice filled with hysteria and panic and despair and sadness and some other emotions he can't even place.

In the distance, he hears his sister cackle, but in his ears, the world has no sound except for her name.

He gets himself off the floor, feeling the blood that she had just bent turn cold from his fear. "Tara? Katara! Katara?!" His voice breaks. His vocal chords feel as though they will crack. Something. She just needs to do something to show him that she's okay, that she'll be fine.

She groans. Softly. Too softly. Zuko would've missed it if he wasn't trying his hardest to listen for it. But she isn't dead. He starts running towards her. He can do something and she'll be fine and --

A blast of lightning shoots right in front of him, and he turns to see Azula barreling towards him with a malicious smile making a home below her baggy eyes. He needs to defeat her first. 

Should be easy enough. Azula is generating the lightning, aiming it right for him. Zuko blinks back the tears that had formed, taking a deep breath. He feels the lightning enter through his fingers, down into his stomach, and into his other arm. He sees Azula staring at him in genuine fear, and remembers that this girl is his little sister. He's about to shoot his little sister with lightning that will kill her. His sister. His sister who calls him Zuzu. His sister who is fourteen years old.

His sister who, through everything, he still loves for some strange reason. His sister who struck Katara with her electricity.

He aims the lightning right for his sister's heart.


	3. moments in time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (moments - one direction)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i only included moments with Zuko, Sokka, and Suki, because i felt like these conversations made sense. Zuko, because obviously. Suki, because i feel like her and Katara could have been really close if they were given enough on-screen time together. and Sokka because he's Sokka. i started writing moments for Toph and Aang but i thought those were pretty boring. plus, i feel like Toph and Aang both have enough memories with Katara before this, so their relationships are pretty much established and i didn't feel like i was adding anything to it. anyway though, i hope you liked this chapter!  
> \- xoxo zara

> "When you are about to die, you are supposed to think about your family, your friends, your happiest moments and saddest moments."

Katara was confused that she didn't - didn't think about her best friends and what she'd be leaving behind - when the flash of electricity was speeding toward her, but now she knows. It's because the lightning has passed through her heart, but somehow, she's still alive. Barely alive, but alive.

Katara is also confused on why. A strike through the heart means death, right? 

So why is she still breathing?

She doesn't know whether her eyes are open or closed, but her vision is black either way. Her ears are ringing, and she can only smell burned flesh.

The same smell she remembers smelling all those years ago, when she discovered her mother. Specifically, when she had knelt down and taken off her the necklace that her mother had worn in the crook of her neck. Katara knew she needed that necklace as a... keepsake (for lack of a better word). Something to remember her mother by. 

What would they keep? Her friends, her family. To remember her. 

Would they even remember her?

Each breath feels like she's drowning into quicksand, struggling to keep herself afloat but constantly failing. Tentacles have wrapped around her heart and her mind is filled with darkness. She can't keep this up much longer. 

She can heal herself, right? She can keep herself alive. But her hands don't move, don't respond to her brain's commands. She's paralyzed. Frozen. Frozen like the ice she bends.

For the first time in a long time, Katara's fingers don't sense the water molecules in the air, or in the drains below the ground, or the water in her pouch. And if she can't feel the water, she certainly can't heal herself. 

She feels herself fading. Slipping away, getting lost in recent memories. 

Katara had never thought of herself as selfish. She had always wanted to help others, not caring about herself.

But at this moment, all Katara wanted was more time. 

* * *

_Katara couldn't sleep. She keeps squeezing her eyes shut, knowing she would have to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to make breakfast for Zuko and Aang before they began firebending training. But she couldn't get herself to go to sleep._

_The moon shines in the sky. It wasn't quite full, but Katara could still feel the blood of her friends singing in their own respective rooms._

_Her mind keeps going back to the play they had watched that day. The play where Azula kills Zuko and Ozai kills Aang and the Fire Nation wins. A very likely reality. Because who were they to stop a nation that had controlled the world for the last one-hundred years? The nation that Earth Kingdom armies couldn't hold up against and Water Tribe warriors got annihilated by. The nation that wiped the air nomads off the face of the Earth - except for one. And the one survivor was the freaking **avatar** , and he would've been dead if he didn't run away at the right time. Katara and her friends, they're just six kids in a war-torn world. _

_She had never seen the world outside her tiny, decimated tribe before finding Aang in that iceberg, and if she hadn't gotten so angry at Sokka, she would probably still be there. Living out her life in a war, barely surviving, Sokka the only person her own age, and unable to bend even an orb of water._

_That was another thing. Aang was an immature twelve-year old boy that had learned three elements in the span of a few months and couldn't even unlock the thing that gave him any sort of chance of beataing Ozai - the avatar state. Plus, even if he could, would Aang even be able to kill him? Sokka had learned how to properly sword-fight only a month or two ago, and his mind was amazing, but would that help him defeat the entire Fire Nation? Toph was certainly powerful and the best earthbender Katara had ever witnessed, but she was still a little girl - and her blindness would be a problem if she couldn't fight on earth. Suki was - well, Suki had been training as a warrior her whole life, but against those firebenders, she still wasn't safe. And Zuko, Zuko was extremely powerful and had been formally trained and had learned from the dragons, apparently, but what if it wasn't enough?_

_And Katara - she could barely bend an orb of water until a few months ago. And sure, she had learned a lot since then. Pakku had called her a prodigy, and she was definitely fairly good at waterbending. She knew how to create massive waves and pull the water from the air. She had even learned how to bend another's body to her own will on that dark night that she will never forget. But she still wasn't good enough, was she?_

_This is what she's thinking about as she makes her way out to the beach. It was a private beach, and it was huge - only the best for the Fire Lord and his family._

_Katara sits down in the sand, stealing some water from the ocean and bending it into different shapes at random. She's lost in thought, and isn't aware of how much time has passed when she suddenly senses the blood of another._

_"What's wrong?" A raspy voice asks. Zuko, Katara realizes immediately._

_"It's... nothing." She sighs._

_"So you're just sitting out here on the beach in the middle of the night because of nothing?"_

_"I rise with the moon, Zuko. I thought you knew this." She jokes, makes an attempt at reverting the conversation._

_Zuko grumbles, slapping his forehead with his palm as he sits down next to her, his legs stretched out. "You'll never let me live that down, will you?"_

_Katara grins, but doesn't reply. Deflecting won't work, will it?_

_She clears her throat. "That play - it just, I don't know, it freaked me out. I know it's not real, but it could be. I'm just scared." She says quietly, her eyes not leaving the water she's bending. She's not sure why, but she feels comfortable here, talking to Zuko. She's found it easy since they got back from their "field trip."_

_"You're not the only one." Zuko affirms._

_"Zuko, what if we don't win? What if we don't come back?" She wonders out loud, although she doesn't expect Zuko to know the answer._

_He doesn't, only snickering darkly. "Wow. I thought you were the one that was lost in so much_ **hope** _?" When Katara doesn't respond, he goes on to say "Sorry, it was just a joke because... okay, I'm not too great at jokes. I should have known this by -"_

 _"No." Katara interrupts. "I know that._ **I** _know it's just a play, and everything's exaggerated, and it's not real."_ _She could use this to reassure her about the upcoming battles, but she isn't thinking about that anymore. "It was a funny joke Zuko, it's just, ugh."_

_"It's just what?" Zuko turns his face towards her. He shifts quickly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to though."_

_"No, I do." Katara suddenly says, surprising Zuko and even herself when the words come out of her mouth. "It's just that - he's so, so stupid! And immature! And like, I know that he's the avatar but that doesn't mean he just gets whatever he wants!" Her blood is boiling now. Why do her emotions take over so easily?_

_Zuko stares at her in confusion, and Katara goes on to explain. The events of the day just keep spilling out of her mouth before she can even think to stop herself. "He... during the intermission, I found him on the balcony. He was so angry about how we were being portrayed in the play, and asked if I really saw him that way. Like a brother."_

_He's a really good listener. Katara has known this since the Ba Sing Se caverns._

_“Like, how immature do you have to be to think something on-stage is actually real-life?”_

_“What?” Zuko is clearly startled at her outburst, but Katara can't hold it back any longer._

_“He asked if what I said onstage was true,” Katara says to soothe his puzzlement, trying not to laugh and biting back tears at the same time._

_"You told him it was an actor, right?"_

_“Yes! I shouldn't have to let him know, but I did anyway. Nicely. And do you know what he told me after that?" Katara asks, pinching her temple and answering her own question. “He said ‘if I hadn’t blocked my chakra, I’d probably be in the Avatar State right now!’ Like, is he actually kidding me right now? Does he think I'm going to just tell her I'll be his girlfriend or whatever he wants from me just to keep him out from some all-powerful temper-tantrum?"_

_"The avatar state is an all-powerful temper-tantrum? That's the thing that happens when his eyes glow and he moves like he's possessed?"_

_Katara remembers that Zuko wouldn't have had a chance to know this. He had only witnessed the avatar state, what twice? And none of those were since he joined the group._

_"Basically. It's where he's like a true avatar with all the other avatars... inside him? I used to think it was unbeatable, but you know..." She trails off. "It's apparently been blocked since Azula shot him back in the crystal caverns."_

_This clearly shocks Zuko, but he doesn't answer, instead nodding and motioning for Katara to continue, which she does. Talking to him feels natural, and right, and she doesn't even know why, but she doesn't care at this particular moment. "And like, I get that he loves me and he's some hero that should get the girl and whatever because he's the guy who saved the world. But I'm a person too, okay! And I do love him, but the actor on the stage was actually right. It's like a brother. It's like how I feel about Sokka." Zuko looks genuinely surprised at this. Probably because he doesn't know that she knows that Aang loves her. ~~Or maybe it's because he doesn't want her to love Aang because he wants her to love him.~~_

_Anyway, Aang makes it pretty hard for her to be clueless._

_"He told me about how he thought we were going to be together and we're not and I didn't want to hurt his stupid, precious, little feelings so I told him that I was confused. And also that we were in the middle of a literal war, which is true, for the record!" She rages on, a fire burning in her heart despite the fact that she's a waterbender from the South Pole._

_Zuko nods in agreement, which reassures Katara that she is **not** crazy or unreasonable. _

_"And I said all that. I made it very clear, I thought. And then do you know what he does?"_

_"Leaves you alone?" Zuko quips hopefully._

_"He **kisses** me!" _

_Zuko's mouth drops open. "What?! He can't... how could he... what makes him think he can do that? It's just wrong!"_

_"Exactly! And I pushed him back and told him how I literally just said I was confused and then I ran inside. But like, I don't understand what in his mind told him it would be a good idea to kiss me."_

_"I'm sorry that he did that to you. If I was there, I would have stopped him." He says sadly as he places his hand on her shoulder, which causes Katara to will _her blood to not run off to her cheeks and embarrass her.__

_"What? You would've saved me?" Katara mocks him in his rasp with the last two words, a sly grin on her face._

_It takes a minute for it to hit Zuko, but when it does, he immediately winces, groaning as he takes his hand off to proceed to cover his face with his hands._

_"From the Aang? Or the_ **pirates** _." She whispers ~~seductively~~ , playfully. _

_Zuko chuckles, shaking his head before giving them both another shock as he pulls Katara into a hug._

_"You didn't peg me for much of a hugger, Zuko." Katara laughs, resting her chin on his warm shoulder._

_"I'm not." Zuko chuckles. "But you seem like you need one, 'Tara." Katara melts. Sokka and Suki love to call her 'Kat' and Toph has more nicknames for her than Katara can count and Aang - just calls her by her full name, but her favorite one is "Tara," and it's one unique to Zuko._

_"I do." Katara confirms wistfully. Zuko always seems to know exactly what she needs, even when she doesn't know herself. She thinks back to their "field trip" again._

_He made sure she got exactly what she needed._

_"It's late." Zuko says suddenly. "We should probably get to sleep."_

_Katara groans, but her mouth curves upwards as she sees another opening. One of the greatest joys in life is to tease Zuko, she has noticed over the past few weeks. "Oh, your right. I'm sorry, Prince Zuko. I almost forgot, you rise with the sun."_

_"_ _Agni! How do you do that?" Zuko says humorously._

_"You make it so easy. You're as awkward as a turtleduck." Katara replies as they both get up._

_"That doesn't even make sense! A turtleduck isn't awkward! They are actually super, super cute and -" Zuko interrupts himself and sighs. "I do make it very easy, don't I?"_

_Katara smirks back in response. "You do, Mr. I-must-regain-my-honor!" She pretends to look around, holding a comical hand above her eyebrow. "Where did it go?"_

_"Now you're overdoing it." He says as they start walking back to the beach house._

_"I think you were the one who overdid it. With your hair. You know, we used to just think of you as bald, angry guy with a ponytail."_

_"What will you do when you run out with things to tease me about?"_

_"Don't worry about that, Zuko." Katara smiles. 'I'll never run out. Your awkwardness is unlimited, so I'll keep finding things to tease you about for the rest of our lives."_

None of them had the guts to say it out loud, but that didn't seem like a bad life to either of them. 

* * *

_Katara enlists Suki to help her with lunch a few days later. Zuko normally helps her with meals now, but he and Aang have extended their early morning training._

_"Kat, I'm so sick of these prison clothes. Do you want to go into town after lunch? You and I can get some new clothes before we train." Suki asks as she chops up a carrot. Katara had asked Suki to teach her some hand-to-hand combat, and they now had a routine to train every evening while Toph trained Aang and Sokka and Zuko had sword fights._

_Katara smiles. "That sounds great! Yeah, I don't know why I didn't think of that before. But... how are we going to pay for them? We don't exactly have any money." Katara drops her voice to a whisper, even though no one is even around. And even if they were, it wouldn't matter. "The clothes Toph and Aang and Sokka and I are wearing are, um, stolen."_

_Suki chuckles. "Really? Well, we won't need to do that - I found some gold pieces in a drawer of the Fire Lord's bedside table, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we borrowed some."_

_Katara grinned and nodded excitedly before an idea popped into her head. Her expression turned mischievous. "I know they have some great places to eat. I'd love to try some Fire Noodles."_

_Suki rose an eyebrow._

_"Best idea." Suki laughs as she slurps a spicy noodle into her mouth an hour or so later. Katara and Suki were now in town, eating the best noodles they had ever tasted at a place called "Burn Your Tongue." They had ditched the three boys and Toph with some soup (that was flavorless) and snuck out to town through the back entrance. The two girls had already shopped - Suki had bought a casual outfit to wear regularly as well as some training clothes. Katara already had a normal outfit, but she had bought a training outfit too. It would be much easier to wear while she trained with Suki and when she was practicing her waterbending._

_"So... what's up with you and our favorite banished prince?" Suki asks casually. "I don't mean to pry - except that I do."_

_"What?!" Katara feels her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "Nothing!"_

_"Come on, Katara," Suki rolls her eyes. "Toph and Aang and Sokka may be clueless, and Zuko may be blind, but I know."_

_Her features soften. "You know, you can tell me anything." Katara feels Suki squeeze her hand - with a lot of power._ _Seriously, it feels like she needs to start healing her hands._

_Katara sighs. "You won't blab to Sokka?"_

_Suki's emerald eyes widen in horror. "Never. Your secret crush is safe with me." She winks._

_"Ugh. It's not a crush. It's just - I don't know. I feel like, a connection to him. Chemistry. And it's like he gets me. He sees me, the real me, in a way Aang doesn't. Not as some caretaker or some mother, but as me. As Katara. And I love talking to him. And when I'm near him, I can feel my heart rate quicken. And, I don't know, a few weeks ago I hated him but now I feel like, like I might -"_

_"Love him?" Suki asks curiously._

_"Maybe." Katara answers timidly. "But I know that it's so just wrong and - Suki, am I just being stupid?"_

_"You aren't being stupid, trust me." Suki says with confidence, putting an arm around her. "Plus, I have a feeling your crush isn't one-sided, ' **Tara**." _

_Suki is definitely more perceptive than Katara gave her credit for._

* * *

_"Katara!" The gang had just finished dinner, and Katara was about to go wash up when she heard her brother's voice call out her name. She turned around to see her brother patting the spot on the courtyard steps next to him, motioning for her to sit down._

_"I know you and Suki went into town this afternoon." He begins. "I know you guys have gotten close, but this was the first time it's really been just you and her, right?"_

_Katara is unsure what Sokka is getting at, but she nods. "I guess?"_

_"What do you think of her?" Sokka sounds scarily serious, the complete opposite of how Katara normally knows her brother as._

_"I love Suki! She's like a sister to me, Sokka. Why?"_

_Sokka breathes out in relief. "Good. Because Kat, I'm going to marry that girl."_

_Katara screams. "What?! Sokka! We are in the middle of a war!"_

_Sokka grabs her arm. "Not right now! But eventually, I'm going to marry her. She's the one. And I want you to like her."_

_"Oh, thank the spirits! Of course I like her, don't worry."_

_Sokka smiles dreamily, before turning around to face his sister. "And after the war... you and Aang, right?"_

_Katara freezes. "Um, maybe. Maybe not." She stares down at her hands as she fiddles with them. She doesn't want to lie to Sokka. "No. No, I don't, I don't like him like that."_

_To Katara's surprise, her brother laughs obnoxiously. "Because of Zuko?"_

_"What?! Did Suki tell you?" Katara gasps._

_Sokka's mouth hangs open. "No! I'm smarter than you think, Kat. Just wanted to let you know, I totally approve you and jerkbender."_

_Katara feels strangely at peace. "Thanks, Sokka." She says simply._

* * *

All Katara wanted was more time. More time to make sure Toph and Aang were okay. More time to watch Sokka and Suki - get married. More time to spend a life with Zuko.

But as she lay there for what seemed like forever, her hands still unable to move, she knew she wouldn't get it. 


	4. where did i go wrong?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> had i known - how to save your life. 
> 
> where did i go wrong? i lost a friend. 
> 
> somewhere along in the bitterness.
> 
> (how to save a life - originally by the fray, performed by nilu)

As soon as the lightning exits Zuko's fingers, he's running faster than... well, lightning. 

He doesn't even want to see what happens to Azula. All he knows is that she is defeated and she is gone. 

Katara is seizing on the ground, gasps escaping from her mouth to signal how much pain she's in. Zuko can barely see - the tears bubbling in his eyes are blurring his vision. He swipes an arm over his face, trying to keep himself together, because Katara's fine. She's going to be fine. Aang died and she brought him back, right? She's a healer, and she can heal herself, and she'll be okay. 

He kneels down and cups her cheek, and he feels a shiver run down his spine when he feels how cold she is. 

Katara has always run cold - she's a waterbender from the South Pole and her specialty is ice. Zuko, being the firebender he is, has always run warm like the sun. Like Sozin's Comet. His blood runs warm enough to survive a swim through the Northern seas. And Zuko has always found Katara much colder than he finds himself. Because they are opposites that make up two pieces of the same puzzle. Yin and Yang. Hot and cold. 

But he has _never_ felt this. It's like she's ice. It's like she's fading away, right in front of him. And he is powerless. 

"KATARA!" He shouts with desperation leaking through. "Do something! Say something! Heal yourself! Make fun of me! Tell me you hate me! Just live! Just open your eyes!" He pleads, feeling burning tears stream down his face. "You aren't allowed to do this! What about your brother and Suki and Toph and Aang and your dad and... and... me? What about me?!" He's sobbing now, feeling like darkness is about to overtake him. 

"I'm sorry." She whispers, her voice as raspy as his. He can see blood filling her mouth. "I tried. I tried but I can't move." She's crying too. "I can't feel the water. It's gone." Water escapes her eyelids, but she can't feel it. She's the best waterbender he's ever seen and she can't feel the water on her own face. He feels like his heart is going to give out. Katara is _stubborn_. She's so annoyingly stubborn. Why can't she just stop this?! Why can't he stop this?!!

"Katara! You can't die!"

"Tell them, tell them all that I love them."

"You can tell them yourself! Someone HELP US PLEASE!"

"No one's here, Zuko." 

"You're going to be fine, you're going to fine and everything's going to be fine. The war is over and we can be happy now! And I love you! I, I'm in love with you! So much!" He's screaming at her, and he sees her give him a watery smile. 

"You don't have to say it just because I'm dying, Zuko." She chuckles darkly. "Always so dramatic." 

"No, I'm serious. I'm serious, Katara, I swear to Agni. I love you!"

She doesn't say anything for a long few seconds. And then she opens her eyes, and it's the last time Zuko sees them shine. "Really? Well, that sucks. I love you too. I love you so much and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. If that isn't weird." 

Zuko laughs through his angst. "It's not! And we will! I'll be the Fire Lord and you can be the Fire Lady, and we'll rebuild the world together! You and I, Tara. We can be happy if you just **_live. Please._** " He knows his begging won't do any good, but Zuko has never been one to give up and lose hope. 

"That sounds perfect." Katara cries. "We could have fixed the Fire Nation and rebuilt the Southern Water Tribe and made the world a happy place. And Zuko,I thought that we could... maybe we could make a city where all the nations live together in, in harmony. And we could... we can have two kids, and we can call them Kai and Izumi, if you like that." 

"We _can_ do all those things! Don't worry. Someone's coming, and you'll be okay."

"I wish I was, because we would've had an amazing life, Zuko. But it's okay. I'll be fine, and you'll be fine. You don't need me." She looks at him one last time, and Zuko memorizes her face. He's about to say something else, but then he sees the light in her eyes fade. Fade until it's nothing. 

"I do." He sobs, wrapping his arms around the person who he couldn't believe was no longer breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that was supposed to be pretty sad. hopefully i got that across! but leave a comment or kudos if you liked it! :)  
> \- xoxo zara


	5. but if you close your eyes (does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (pompeii - bastille)

The next few hours was a blur to Zuko. He didn't know if it was day or night, if he was alive or not, he didn't know anything. All he knew was that he was breathing in a world where Katara wasn't. 

He remembered being picked off the floor, he remembered the sages treating Katara like a rag doll before he started screaming incoherently. 

Honestly, he doesn't know. 

But it's the next day. A day without her. 

Every second, he feels like he's drowning. He feels nothing but pain and anguish. 

Every minute, he's hit with a flashback. Her face as she bloodbent him out of the way. The way she looked, crumpled on the ground and burning - like someone was cooking her. The way her face lit up when she heard him confess how he loved her. The way she described a life for them, a happiness Zuko would never find without her. 

The way the light left her hypnotizing, magical eyes, and never bothering to return. 

How was he supposed to look Sokka in the eye? How was he supposed to tell them? That he was alive, that they had won, that they should be celebrating!

But instead, Katara was dead. Katara was gone. And she wasn't ever coming back. 

"Lord Zuko, the airship has been spotted!" A sage tells him.

His eyes, which are worn out from tears, widen. His brain is paralyzed with dread. He feels as close to death as he has ever felt, and he is about to tell Sokka that his sister is dead. Suki that her best friend is dead. Toph that her big sister is dead. Aang that his crush is dead. They are about to feel this too. 

His heart clenches. His breath halts. His hands shake. 

He stumbles outside, feeling nausea builds up as he sees the airship unload his friends onto the courtyard. 

"Zuko!" Sokka smiles brightly as they walk off the airship, his arm draped around Suki for support due to a leg injury. 

* * *

Sokka crumbled to the ground into a mess of hot anger and wet, raw tears as he hyperventilated. 

Suki put a hand to her heart and another to clasp her mouth, shoulders shaking as she sobbed and her breath failing to catch.

Toph's lips quivered, screaming in angst before she disappeared into an earth tent. 

Aang's mouth dropped in shock and denial, but soon enough, he began to bawl, wrapping his arms around Zuko. 

These reactions were permanently etched into Zuko's brain. 

Why did Katara have to go and die?

* * *

His coronation was a few weeks later. The world was celebrating the end of a century- long war that had finally come to an end.

But nothing felt joyous to Zuko, because Katara wasn't there to see any of it. 

He dazed through the next few weeks, because he had to. He had to "restore the honor of the Fire Nation." He was the new Fire Lord. So he made it through, because he had to. 

But nothing felt like it had any real meaning anymore. What was the point?

He looks out his window every night, staring at the moon for hours. 

When he closes his eyes, he can almost hear her. Talking and laughing and teasing him and confiding in him. He can almost see her. Smiling beautifully, graciously compassionate, fighting with a look of determination and serenity. He can almost feel her. The electricity around them sizzling, the chemistry between them blazing. And for a split second, her wants to cry of happiness.

But he opens his eyes, and he's back to a life that Katara has left. Forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is way too short i know, but i'm planning for atleast one or two more chapters, and they should be longer!


	6. nothin' lasts forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> say you'll remember me...
> 
> even if it's just in your wildest dreams. 
> 
> (wildest dreams - taylor swift)

The clock stops for no one. 

Days bleed into months and months become years in the blink of an eye. Katara's gone, but the world is still here, and the war is still over. Zuko is the Fire Lord now, and he has the impossible task of rebuilding his own broken nation while also trying his best to help repair the other nations that have been even more destroyed by the effects of war. 

His friends leave, eventually, except for Suki and Ty Lee, who decide to stay with the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors at the palace and act as Zuko's personal bodyguards.

Sokka returns to the Southern Water Tribe, beginning his training to become the next chief and playing an important role in the Southern Reconstruction Project, which includes the construction of a brand-new capital city to replace the decimated tribe Zuko remembers from when he had been there, a lifetime ago. It was where he had met Katara for the first time, although he would have never have imagined that this is how things would work out. 

Like his Uncle says, destiny is a funny thing. 

Toph initially goes back to Goaling to reunite with her parents. While she does reconcile with them, their relationship will never be quite what Toph needs from a mother and a father. Zuko can tell she misses Katara, feels the pain of not having her anymore. Toph had confessed to him one night that she had come to think of Katara as sort of the mother she'd never had, despite how peculiar or wrong that may be. Eventually however, she finds her place, starting up a majorly successful metalbending school in a prosperous yet heavily fought over colony, Yu Dao. 

The colony is being disputed over by both the Earth Kingdom, who the land had initially belonged to, and the Fire Nation, who had owned the colony for the past one hundred years. The mixed residents of the main city, Cranefish Town, remind Zuko of Katara's words - _a city where all the nations live in harmony_. The dreamy thought keeps popping into his mind until the time is finally right, and he suggests creating a fifth nation with Cranefish Town as its capital city. The idea becomes well-liked by most fairly quickly, especially Sokka, who even as the honor of naming the city. After a week of brainstorming, he decides upon Republic City, and Zuko decides its Sokka's best name concoction yet. 

Aang disappears from the world, and Zuko begins to believe that the avatar has gotten himself trapped in another iceberg for the next century. Eventually however, he returns, explaining that he had taken a two-years-long journey into the Spirit World, and instead of meditating, he had actually, physically been there, entering through the South Pole's spirit portal. 

A few years after the war is over, Zuko gets back together with Mai. He had first rejected the idea completely, but he is the Fire Lord and he must produce heirs, and he certainly prefers a lifetime with his childhood flame that he still actually likes over some random noblewomen that will barely bother to speak with him and simply bask in the glory of becoming the new Fire Lady. 

He can't help but wonder what his life would be like if Katara was still here, and sometimes, when he sees Mai complaining about her limited duties as Fire Lady, silent with a bored expression on her face through all the Peace Summits and council meetings, or run away with Ty Lee to Ember Island for days on end on vacations, he imagines Katara in her place. 

They have one child, simply because Zuko must have a heir. Mai has never really liked children all that much, and she wasn't ever itching to have any more of them after their first daughter was born. 

Zuko had asked Mai if they could call her Izumi, and his wife had reluctantly agreed. 

He lives a long life, and its a happy one. 

But he can't help but dream up a life with her in it. 

Too bad it's only in his wildest dreams. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is actually horrible, i know! but i have had zero inspo for this story but wanted to give it some sort of ending, so here it is! its super short and all over the place but its an ending!
> 
> \- xoxo Zara


End file.
